One ‘Ford Tough’ truck

“We can’t keep them in stock,” said Bruce Schindler, of Bob Davidson Ford Lincoln Mercury in Baltimore. “We sell them just as quickly as we get them.”

The retooled truck has attracted plenty of buzz from auto journalists throughout the United States and a fair number of awards including MotorTrend’s 2009 Truck of the Year award.

If you think all of this is just hype, climb behind the wheel of the F-150, and you’ll become a believer as I did.

There’s no question that the F-150 is powerful, but during a several-hundred-mile test drive, it never made me fight for control. Handling was as smooth on bumpy, back roads in Tennessee as it was on the Capital Beltway. Surprisingly, even on gravel, the ride never made me feel the truck was unsteady or that I was out of control.

The F-150 held the road solidly and muscled up and over curb, hills, rocks and whatever else got in its way.

That’s no doubt thanks to some nifty engineering by way of electronic traction control, stability control and an independent wishbone front suspension. Braking and steering responsiveness were equally impressive.

Ford credits the base 4.6-liter V-8 engine that generates 248 horsepower with the power. The other two engines available are a 4.6-liter V-8 with 292 hp and a 5.4 with 310 hp.

As truck buffs know, the F-150, part of Ford’s F-Series truck line, has been one of the top-selling trucks in the United States for more than three decades.

This time out, Ford is playing up the “working-man’s-truck” theme in its media campaign. And many auto critics agree, calling the truck’s power and design a full-on system for those whose work hinges on heavy-duty trucks.

But there’s a lot more to the F-150 than that. This truck is roomy, comfortable and powerful enough to make families think twice about a sport utility vehicle, especially if they want to lug around a trailer, boat or lots of sports gear. With 11,300 pounds of towing capability and a hauling capacity of 3,030 pounds, this is a truck that can power through just about anything.

What’s nice is that the power doesn’t come at the expense of superb handling and an ultracomfortable ride. This truck rides like an SUV and has many of the niceties of a sedan including high-tech audio, a myriad of safety features and comfortable seats.

David Wilson, of the Preston (Md.) Automotive Group, one of the top Ford truck dealers in the United States, said the truck has been turning heads since it arrived in the showroom.

“It has the ‘wow’ factor,” said Preston. “The biggest thing people notice is the redesign, plus it has great fuel economy.”

While the truck I drove (eight-cylinder, 4.6-liter, automatic, four-speed) is rated 14 mpg city and 18 mpg highway, I averaged 20 miles per gallon overall; it likely would have been higher if I wasn’t in so much stop-and-go traffic in one major city. Suffice to say, I’m a believer.

As you’d expect, the truck has been rated high in safety. What’s surprising, though, is that Ford said it’s the only pickup to earn both the government’s top five-star crash-test ratings and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s top safety award.

With a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $20,345, it’s a good bet the F-150 has many more awards in its future.